Step 4: Database Searching
Pro Tip #1: This is a time-consuming process. Give yourself plenty of time.
Turning it into a search string
If you are doing a general search for information, you can just use the controlled vocabulary terms as part of your search string, so your search might look like:
Example of search strings:
| CINAHL | NB: AB stands for Abstract field (So the search only searches the keywords in the Abstract field of the record) | |
| S1 | ( "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" OR CFS ) AND ( Female OR Wom?n ) AND ( exercise routine or exercise regimen or physical activity ) AND Improvement AND symptoms | 12 Results |
| S2 | AB ( "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" OR CFS ) AND AB ( Female OR Wom?n ) AND AB ( exercise routine or exercise regimen or physical activity ) AND AB Improvement AND AB symptoms | 2 Results |
| S3 | AB Abstract ("Myalgic encephalomyelitis" OR ME ) AND AB ( Female OR Wom?n ) AND AB Physical activity | 56 Results |
| S4 | (AB "Myalgic encephalomyelitis" OR ME AND AB Female OR Wom?n AND AB Physical activity) AND (S1 AND S2 AND S3) | 714 Results |
Keep a record of all your searches and search terms. Below is a template you might like to use:
Click on picture above for template
Go through each individual database and grey literature source systematically. Doing one search term at a time. You can book an appointment with a Liaison Librarian to get you started. If you are a beginner, then we recommend using Pubmed, CINAHL Ultimate and maybe talk to your tutor about grey literature sources.
Pro tip #2: Start with CINAHL and then move onto PubMed.
Note. From "Quick tips & shortcuts for database searching" [video], by Modern Librarian Memoirs, 2013, February 7. YouTube. (https://youtu.be/aWqdF9L4D24). Copyright 2013 by Modern Librarian Memoirs.
Develop a PRISMA Statement. Use this link to get an app that creates your diagram for you. https://www.eshackathon.org/software/PRISMA2020.html
Pro searching tips
Most search engines will give you some options to optimise your search and really target the results you want. In this section you will learn about Boolean operators and phrase searching.
Boolean operators (and, or, not)
You may notice the following drop-down options when you use the Catalogue or the OneSearch Advanced Search:
| Operator/Feature | What it does | EBSCOhost Databases (Academic Search Complete) |
|---|---|---|
| phrase parsing | Keeps words together in the order specified. | “South America” |
| truncation | Used to replace any single character, either inside or at the end of a word. Use multiple wildcards to replace a specific # of letters. |
*= any number of characters
|
| wildcard | Looks for documents that contain all of your words or phrases. Use AND to narrow your search and get fewer results. Word order does not matter. | ? = replaces one character wom?n = women, woman |
| Boolean operator: and |
Looks for documents that contain all of your words or phrases. Use AND to narrow your search and get fewer results. Word order does not matter. |
rainforest* and ecosystem*
|
| Boolean operator: or | Looks for documents that contain any of your words or phrases. Use OR to broaden your search and get more results. Always use parenthesis around “or” phrases. | rainforest* and (South America* or Amazon* or Brazil*) |
| proximity indicator: Near | Look for documents that contain search terms in any order, within a specified number of words apart. Replace the second ‘n’ with any number. | Nn - example: N3 rainforest* N5 ecosystem* rainforest* N10 ecosystem* |
| proximity indicator: Pre | Look for documents that contain search terms within a specified number of words in the same order. Replace ‘n’ with a number. In the example, 5 means within 5 words. | Wn example: W5 rainforest* W5 ecosystem* |
| field searching | Use the drop-down option by the search boxes to limit searching to a specific field. Title is the most useful field for focusing a search. |  |
| noteworthy features | On the initial search screen, explore the “Search Options” section below the search boxes. “Apply equivalent subjects” and “Apply related words” are good for broadening a search. | |
| essential filters | Limit by date, source type, peer-reviewed, full text, document type, language and more. | Explore the filters on the left side bar of the search results page |
Phrase Searching
All you need to do is put quotation marks around your search terms, like this:
Limited and Filters
They are often tick boxes or drop down menus in the advanced search:
 |
 |
 |
Nesting
Nesting is a technique that groups search words. Nesting is useful to organise your search concepts into the order you want the database to process them, such as combining synonyms for each search concept.
Most database use brackets or parentheses for nesting ( )
Note. Purdue University Northwest. (2020, August 7). 2020 Advanced databases searching CINAHL [video]. https://youtu.be/j8myCdOCx8s. Copyright 2020 by Purdue University Northwest.
Great online tool for finding journal articles. Links to your Zotero Library.
Note. From "Welcome to ResearchRabbit" [video], by ResearchRabbit, 2021, August 10. YouTube. (https://youtu.be/W1W51rYJA3I). Copyright 2021 by ResearchRabbit.